Organize Your Pals

By Marjorie L Sallee, KS

How do you organize your pen pal list? Do you have a list of names and addresses in computer data base? That's probably one of the most up-to-date methods we have available to us. Do you have them listed in your address book along with your other friends and family members? Some pen pals use 3 X 5 index cards or a roladex to keep addresses handy. What do you do about birthdays and anniversaries? Do you keep a special file or book listing them, so you can send cards out at the appropriate times? Or do you just not keep a list at all but answer each letter as it comes and discard the envelopes with the return addresses?

It seems like everyone has a little different method of keeping track of people. One of the most interesting, I think, is the way some pals build scrapbooks full of information about their pen pals. I have received over the years various types of questionnaires to fill out giving my name, address, phone number, date of birth, anniversary date, husband's name, date of birth, children's names and dates of birth, pets, hobbies, interests, etc. Many of these survey sheets also ask for a lot of my favorite things such as colors, foods, movie stars, books, etc. The list can be very complete. I often wonder what that person is going to do with all of that information about me. Some ask for a photo or have a space on the sheet where a photo might be affixed.

Now that scrap booking has become such a widespread hobby, I can imagine the wonderful things that creative people are doing with these information sheets. I can picture the survey sheets in a section devoted that pen pal. There are so many lovely background sheets. The information about the pal could be transferred to several pages in a loose leaf notebook that could be expanded as other photos and information is received through the years. The pages are decorated with stickers and calligraphy. The amount of work that goes into such an extensive scrapbook is enormous, but the rewards are many.

I have never attempted to make scrapbooks about my pals. Some scrapbooks are just ordinary with plenty of space to store the photos that come from time to time. Some are elaborate with colorful borders, sayings, and designs of every sort. But after a few months or years, what a lovely tribute to friendship they have created. They can open the pages of the book and see what that special pal looks like, read about the things they enjoy and spend time doing. The scrap book allows us to preserve those special little souvenirs or tuck-ins we have received from that friend, a wedding or a birth announcement that might otherwise end up in the trash, a special note for a special event. The possibilities are unlimited, and the rewards are very great

Do you have other ways that you keep track of your pen pals? I'd love to hear from you and pass your ideas along to the readers of this column.